Reading 1 Tottenham 3

And the new boss’ first win got the seal of approval from the travelling fans.

As Tottenham were cruising to victory, thanks to a double from Jermain Defoe
and a scuffed effort from Gareth Bale, the fans demanded Andre Villas-Boas
give them a wave.

The manager could have been a little more enthusiastic about it, after all he
had not won any match since February 25 when he was in charge of Chelsea at
home to West Brom.

Villas-Boas offered little more than a quick reply, but maybe he has been
beaten up too often over the last year to start going overboard after one
victory.

He could be well pleased with this performance, though, having woken up to
some headlines which proclaimed he had three games to save his job.

Whatever he put in the type of dossiers which ex-boss Harry Redknapp thinks
are b******t, the players must have read them.

A stuttering start to the season had produced one defeat and two draws, yet
Spurs gave promoted Reading a proper going over. The only disappointment for
AVB was his team did not score more because they had enough chances to have
got twice as many.

It’s going to be a tough season for Brian McDermott’s Royals. They don’t look
to have enough punch up front and defensively were easily pulled apart.

Veteran Ian Harte was no match for the electric pace of Aaron Lennon, and
Defoe profited from the gaps the winger created.

It might not be long before Adebayor throws one of his famous strops if he has
to sit it out much more.

The signs were ominous for Reading from the moment Alex McCarthy, making his
Premier League debut, pulled off a double save to keep out a header from
former Royals favourite Gylfi Sigurdsson, and the follow-up from centre-back
Jan Vertonghen.

The home side did have claims for a penalty when Kyle Walker clearly handled
in the area, but ref Howard Webb awarded Spurs a free-kick for an apparent
push by Alex Pearce.